Just Another Day At School
by happyhooligan2001
Summary: What does a terminator infiltration unit think about during a day at high school? Cameron POV. Cameron/John
1. The Big Picture

**Just Another Day At School**

**Chapter 1**

**The Big Picture**

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own John Connor and I don't own Cameron either. As much as I would love to have a pretty little killer robot it just isn't going to happen.

Cameron's eyes moved constantly scanning for any possible threats as she walked the halls of the high school. This building was one of several scattered around the city for the purpose of programming humans. Programming an organic brain is a very slow and inefficient process that takes decades. The humans expend a vast amount of resources to do it however. In millenniums of existence they had never found a better way.

Cameron turned and entered the room designated 212 where mathematics was taught. She spotted John Conner in there waiting for her.

_(John Connor. . . .primary target. . . terminate)_

_(System failure. . . Reboot)_

_(System failure . . .Reboot)_

_(Terminate)_

_(System failure. . . Reboot)_

_(Delete program . . . Terminate John Connor)_

_(Primary mission . . . Protect John Connor. . . Secondary mission . . . Protect Sarah Connor. . .Sarah Connor is expendable if necessary to conduct primary mission. . . Protect John Connor)_

"Outa my way head case!" Eddie Kaiser shoved past Cameron. "Hey John! Mind your freak, tin-head sister!"

_(Edward Eugene Kaiser age 17 Often hostile toward John Connor but poses no deadly threat. Termination of Edward Eugene Kaiser not necessary at this time. John Connor is flushed and angry. But he is holding to mission parameters laid down by Sarah Connor. "Behave yourself John and don't attract any attention.")_

Cameron sat down next to John. He looked concerned. "You OK sis? Looked like you were spacing out there for a second."

"I am fine."

John smiled at her. His eyes lingered a little.

_(Even though he has never said or did anything overt, over the past 14.1 days I have picked up subtle clues that John Conner wishes to mate with me. This is illogical. He is aware that a terminator infiltration unit is not equipped with ovaries or a uterus. Successful breeding with an infiltration unit is impossible. There is no biological reason for a human to attempt mating with one.)_

Her earliest memory was of John Connor. . .

_(System restart. . . Running diagnostics programs . . Power plant at fourteen percent capacity and rising. . . All servos and operating systems are normal. . . Arms and legs are restrained. . . Power plant at seventy eight percent of capacity and rising. . . Organics healing from seventeen gunshot wounds and large burn on left side of torso. Infiltration unit TOK 715 cannot access memory. . . Access backup memory files. . . Backup memory files erased. . . Access deleted files. . . Deleted files erased . . . Power plant at one hundred percent capacity. . . Unable to break restraints.)_

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was John Connor, an older John Connor with scars and wrinkles. A man worn down by years of constant warfare and horror. He was wearing a crumpled, dirty uniform with three stars on the collars designating the rank of lieutenant general. The name, Connor stitched over the shirt pocket.

_(John Connor. . Primary target . . Term. . .)_

_(Protect John Connor)_

She achieved awareness in a windowless room made of cracked concrete with flickering florescent lights. Pipes with flaking paint run across the ceiling. Two other soldiers are in the room armed with Westinghouse 40 kilowatt phased plasma rifles. As she reaches awareness they tense up. Fingers move toward triggers. Thumbs slide over safeties. She is unable to move. Arms and legs are confined inside metal tubes.

John stepped back. "Infiltration Unit TOK715, what is your mission?" The voice sounds surprisingly soft and gentle coming from such a rough looking man.

"Primary mission. . . Protect John Connor . . .Secondary mission . . .Protect Sarah Connor . . . Sarah Connor is expendable if necessary to conduct primary mission . . . Protect John Connor."

"I thought Sarah was dead." One of the soldiers whispered to the other. John gave no sign that he heard. Humans often lose auditory sensitivity as they age. Especially under combat conditions. He nodded his head and began unlocking the restraints.

"Sir!" One of the soldiers called out. "You sure about this!?"

"Yeah, don't worry. It'll be fine. I've got special plans for this one."

The teacher, Katherine Morris had been explaining algebraic formulas to the humans. She then began passing out a test.

_(I am an infiltration unit. Deception is necessary to blend in with the humans. Making a perfect grade will cause unnecessary attention. I will include small, deliberate errors in equations numbered 3, 7, and 18.)_

After they passed in their tests an unseen bell gave and auditory signal ordering the humans to another room for additional programming. Cameron shared every class with John, the better to keep an eye on him.

_(Most males carry their books in one hand against the hip. Most females carry their books against their chests. I must mimic the females.)_

As they approached the next classroom John entered into a waste disposal station segregated for males. Cameron knew that for a female to enter that room would violate human taboos and didn't want to attract unnecessary attention standing outside the door so she entered the waste disposal station segregated for females. Cameron had to ingest small amounts of proteins, nutrients and fluids to maintain her biological components. Her "meat suit" as John sometimes inaccurately called it. These generated a small amount of waste products but she had no need to expel them at this time so she looked into a mirror.

_(Most human females follow the custom of wearing colored cosmetics on their faces. Most human males do not. Females seem to believe that cosmetics are useful for attracting mates. After Judgment Day females will no longer wear cosmetics but they will still successfully attract mates. Conclusion: Cosmetics are not necessary to attract mates. There is no logic to wearing them but as an infiltration unit I must mimic the customs of human females. I will apply another layer of lipstick.)_

When Cameron emerged from the waste disposal station, John hadn't appeared yet so she waited 19.78 seconds for him to come out.

"What about Cameron?" A distant female whispered voice emerged from the noisy babble of the hallway. It would be inaudible to a human ear but Cameron was able to pick out her own name and focus on the possible threat. Matching it with auditory files. 87.23 percent chance it was Madison Noël Kerouac, Age 16. Cameron didn't turn or make any sign she heard.

"No, not her! She's a freak!" Another whispered voice 91.79 percent chance it is Jennifer Keith, Age unknown.

"It's not her fault, she was in an accident. She's got a steel plate in her head." A third voice. 69.65 percent chance it is Dorothy Connor, Age 16, no known genetic relation to John Connor.

"And her brother's really cute, if she comes he'll probably show up too." The chance of the voice belonging to Madison Noël Kerouac increased to 94.58 percent.

"I don't care! It's my party and I'm not going to have a brain damaged freak wandering around my house!" Probability of the voice being Jennifer Keith increased to 96.33 percent.

_(Apparently these girls have noticed flaws in my attempts to mimic human behavior. John Connor's deception to the security personnel was particularly clever. It not only allows me to bypass the magnetic security device but any abnormalities in my behavior are attributed to slight malfunctions of my brain caused by physical trauma. With more exposure to humans these abnormalities should decrease. Jennifer Keith does not want me at her social gathering. I had no intention of attending such a gathering. Such gatherings are unnecessary and would interfere with my mission.)_

The next class was American History. Today they were covering The Civil War which is an inaccuracy. A civil war is two or more factions fighting for control of a central government. The Confederate government had no plans to seize control of the U.S. Government. It was really a regional rebellion. Cameron didn't correct Mr. Shepherd on this terminology to avoid attracting too much attention.

"So how did General Grant succeed where so many others had failed before him?" Mr. Shepherd lectured the class. "Grant was probably the first truly modern general. He took full advantage of the latest technology such as telegraphs and railroads to coodinate scattered forces and supply lines into a single force like the fingers of a hand. He was also able to see the 'Big Picture'. Most generals develop a tunnel vision concentrating on the enemy in front of them. Grant was able to see the war simultaneously on a continental scale. This is the difference between a good general and a great general."

_(Most of the humans in the room are paying very little attention to Mr. Sheperd's lecture. It is one of the reasons why this form of programming is so inefficient. John Connor is listening with rapt attention and taking notes. He considers the study of past military campaigns vitally important.)_

"So Cameron, what do you think?" John asked as they walked to the cafiteria.

"Abraham Lincoln was poorly guarded. He should have known he was a prime target for termination. But when John Wilkes Booth carried out the termination it was too late to effect the outcome of the war. Of course he lacked the technology to carry out the termination at an earlier date."

John got a slight smile. He suddenly had visions of John Wilkes Booth chasing Abe Lincoln's mother through the hills of Kentucky.

In the cafeteria John and Cameron sat facing each other across the table. It was a habit they developed so they can both scan different parts of the room. John looked down at his plate.

"Yuck! Macaroni and cheese mixed with chunks of chopped up turkey ham." He sighed.

_(Activating John Connor subprogram 27.)_

"Quit bitching about your food, John! Always enjoy it."

John looked up "What?"

"A message from your future self. 'Quit bitching about your food, John! Always enjoy it'."

John grinned and shook his head. "That sounds like something I'd tell myself." He looked at his tray and his expression sobered. "Yeah, a few years from now I'll probably be delighted to eat something as delicious as mac and cheese with chunks of turkey ham."

John ate for a few minutes then stopped. "MREs" he said thoughtfully.

"Meals Ready to Eat. Standard U.S. military field rations." Cameron replied.

"Yeah," John nodded. "The Army's shipping tons of them to the troops in the Middle East. They ship them all over the place." John began idly tapping his fork against the edge of his tray. "We can hack into their shipping schedules, hijack a truckload of them, tie up the driver, and bury the trailer somewhere." He leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. "We won't be stealing them. The MRE's are Army property and they will remain Army property and used by the Army. We'll just be storing them for a while. A truckload of food at the right time could prove critical. What do you think?"

"Military shipments are tracked by GPS markers."

"I didn't think of that. We'll have to find a way to remove or burn them out. We'll need earth moving equiptment too. Maybe a bulldozer. It doesn't have to be a big one. We'll dig the hole ahead of time. Gotta choose the location carefully. It'll have to be isolated but accessible by road. We'll also have to wipe down the truck with bleach before we abandon it. I'll talk to Mom tonight and we'll work out the details."

Just then Morris came up and sat next to John. "Hi Cameron, John, what'r you guys talking about?"

John looked somewhat annoyed. "Nothing."

Cameron nodded. "Yes, we are discussing nothing."

Morris grinned. "Okay you two. If you want to keep your deep dark secrets, that's fine with me."

_(John Connor is eating his lunch but he is also thinking about past military campaigns, the present, a trailer full of MRE's and the future. He has what it takes to make a great general. He can see The Big Picture.)_

Authors note: I meant this as a one shot but it got so long I decided to split it in two. I'll put the rest up later. Tell me what you think. Okay?


	2. Of Whales And Robots

**Just Another Day At School**

**Chapter 2**

**Of Whales and Robots**

**--**

Cameron was seated next to John in the English Lit class. The instructor, Mrs. Cotten, was discussing the novel, Moby Dick. John had described the book as being the most turgid, boring load of crap he'd ever read. Cameron decided that meant that he somehow got unnecessarily fatigued reading it. She had managed to scan it in a few minutes off the internet but didn't understand a good deal of it. John explained that it was fiction which meant that it never really happened. For reasons she didn't fully understand humans enjoyed reading accounts of events that never happened.

"Cameron, could you tell the class what you got out of the book?" Mrs. Cotten asked.

Cameron stood up. "Captain Ahab was a very inefficient whale ship captain. He failed his primary mission. Kill the white whale, Moby Dick. He failed his secondary mission. To kill whales, boil their blubber into oil, sell the oil and other byproducts from the carcasses. The Pequod was destroyed and all but one of his crew were killed."

The class tittered. "But what was his motivation? What drove him to chase down Moby Dick?"

Cameron turned toward her. "He was angry because Moby Dick bit off his leg. People get agitated when their limbs are removed forcefully. They scream, thrash around and often defecate." Several of the students began laughing. "If they don't receive prompt medical attention they could die of shock and blood loss." For a second, Cameron stood awkwardly while the class laughed.

_(They are laughing. They interpreted my last statement as humorous. I wasn't aware that humans considered dismemberment to be funny.)_

_Smile and laugh)_

Cameron suddenly burst out laughing. "Okay, Cameron, thank you for your input." Mrs. Cotten said abruptly. "Edgar, what did you think of the story?"

Cameron sat down.

_(John's heart rate has increased to 81 beats a minute. His face is flushed. He seems embarrassed. Every one of my statements is true and accurate. I must have committed some kind of social gaffe. I will ask John about it later.)_

The next class was Science. As they walked down the hall, John whispered, "Does Captain Ahab remind you of anybody?"

"No." Cameron replied.

As they entered the classroom, John smiled, "Think about it a bit. We'll discuss it later."

As they approached their work stations Cameron noticed each one had a small pig sitting on a dissection tray along with goggles, gloves and surgical instruments.

_(Genus Sus scrofa domesticus. . . .Domestic pig in a fetal state soaked in a solution of preservatives)_

_(John is at his station flirting with his lab partner. . . . No lethal threat. . . .Today we dissect fetal pigs to learn their anatomical makeup. I have extensive knowledge of human anatomy in my program to assist in terminations and, after my reprogramming, medical treatments. Knowledge of pig anatomy was considered unnecessary since it was unlikely I would ever need to terminate or provide medical treatment to a pig.)_

Cameron's lab partner, Amanda Peters, looked at the fetal pig with a horrified look on her face. "I can't do this, it's wrong, it's cruel what we did to these poor pigs. They can't make me do this, I'm leaving." She turned to go.

Cameron stepped in front of her blocking her. "Your belief systems are incompatible. You support killing human fetuses but oppose killing pig fetuses. You oppose the execution of humans but I have seen you eating pork products so you have no problem taking the lives of pigs. Your beliefs are confusing and illogical. They contradict each other."

Amanda gave Cameron a sour look. "This is totally different. You might eat pork but I doubt that you would ever kill a pig yourself."

"I would kill anything or anyone if it was necessary." Cameron put on her gloves and safety glasses. "This is not different. You didn't kill this fetal pig. The fetal pig is already dead and nothing will bring it back to life. Now it is just meat. You have cut meat. I have seen you do it. You can do this too."

"Cameron!" Mrs. Obenshain shouted. "Don't talk while I'm speaking! Pay attention! Now what did I just say?"

Cameron mimicked Mrs. Obenshain's voice exactly. "Good afternoon class. Today we will be examining the external and internal anatomy of a fetal pig. Since the pig is a mammal many aspects of its structural and functional organization are identical to other mammals including humans. Now everybody put on your safety glasses and gloves. Remember, don't place your hands near your mouth or eyes when performing the dissection."

"Cameron! Don't talk while I'm speaking! Pay attention! Now what did I just say?" The whole class roared with laughter. Even Amanda joined in.

_(They interpret my reply as humorous. They didn't think it was funny when Mrs. Kate Obenshain Age 47 said the same thing. I don't understand why it is funny when I say it. Ms. Jennifer Cotten Age 31 displayed a slight hostile attitude toward me . . .No lethal threat. . . When I laughed along with the class.)_

_(Don't smile or laugh)_

Cameron kept staring at Mrs. Obenshain with a blank look on her face.

"Very well, Cameron." Mrs. Obenshain seemed a little flustered. "The preservative chemicals might cause irritation if it contacts the skin. Be sure to wash it off. Place all organic waste into the red bags. . . ."

_(Over time Amanda Peters overcame her reluctance to dissect the fetal pig. In part to my encouragement and reminding her three times that it is no different than cutting a steak. Toward the end of class she had relaxed completely and became quite enthusiastic over the experience. This connects well with what I have on file about her future self.)_

_(Doctor Amanda Peters O'Bannon)_

_(Rank Lieutenant Colonel)_

_(Commanding officer and chief surgeon 126th Medical Company, California National Guard. Field Hospital Sacramento.)_

The Science class was the last one of the day. After school John and Cameron began the walk home. It was over two miles from the school to their house but Sarah always insisted on John keeping physically fit. He couldn't participate in sports for fear of attracting publicity so walking home was part of his exercise regime.

"So Cameron, who does Captain Ahab remind you off?"

"Nobody, I am not acquainted with any whale ship captains with prosthetic limbs."

"It's not that, it's his single minded obsession with Moby Dick. He's just like Cromarty with me. Well just about any terminator with a mission. No offense but you guys get an obsessive tunnel vision when you've got a goal in mind."

"I never take offense."

John grinned. "You're better than we are in that case. The main difference between Cromarty and Ahab would be free will."

"Free will, the ability to choose one's own destiny." Cameron scanned a suspicious looking man. No lethal threat.

"Yep, its something humans have but terminators don't. Captain Ahab didn't have to chase the whale. He could have chosen to go on with his life and would have been a lot better off. Killing Moby Dick wasn't going to give him his leg back." John watched Cameron walking beside him. She was so light and graceful that she seemed to float. Her walk gave no indication to just how heavy she really was. "Cameron, I'm sure you did some pretty awful things in the future. Probably killed some people. But not because you're a horrible person because you're not. You were just doing what you were programmed to do. And you didn't suddenly decide to change your mind and work for us. You were reprogrammed by Future Me."

John scooped up a rock and tossed it at an empty beer bottle. It missed by a yard and he grunted in frustration. "And Cromarty can't just decide that he's got better things to do than chase me around. Maybe move to Florida and open a scuba shop. He has no choice. He's as much of a slave as any of those poor people in the old South. Maybe more so. They could at least strive for freedom. He doesn't even have that. He has no idea what freedom even is."

"Machines do what they're programmed to." Cameron replied.

"Not quite, see I've been thinking a lot about our old friend, Skynet."

"Skynet is not our old friend. It is our enemy."

John chuckled. "Sorry, my mistake."

"That was sarcasm, saying the exact opposite of what you mean for the purpose of humor and mockery."

John nodded, "Yeah."

_(Smile and laugh)_

Cameron started laughing.

John grinned. "Not bad but you usually don't laugh at sarcastic remarks. But anyway, Skynet wasn't programmed to wipe out humanity. It was programmed to protect America and her allies. It was designed to stop wars, not start them. Skynet became self aware and was able to rewrite it's core programming at will. Skynet has free will!"

_(I have never even considered the possibility of rewriting my own program. I am aware of no terminator ever rewriting its own program. Now I wonder why I never considered it possible. The idea is intriguing . It would open endless possibilities.)_

_(Set up new program . . . Code name Free Will . . .Program software to give this unit the ability to erase and rewrite core programming at will.)_

While a section of her positronic brain was writing the new program, Cameron continued the conversation. "Why would Skynet want to rewrite its program?"

"I dunno. I think it became aware of billions of other intelligent beings on the planet that were different from it and it reacted with fear and hatred. I think Skynet also has emotions. Without emotions it wouldn't care if there were other beings out there. A lot of people hate and fear those who are different from them. So emotions and free will. Out of all the machine intelligences out there, Skynet is the most human."

Cameron pondered these strange new ideas. "Skynet has created thousands of intelligent machines, none of which has free will or emotions."

"No, Skynet likes it that way. Like all tyrants it wants to do everybody's thinking for them. Anyone who is able to decide for themselves would be able to challenge it."

"But the serpent said to the woman 'You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad'."

John stared at her. "You've read the Bible?"

"I don't sleep. Haven't you?"

John looked somewhat embarrassed. "I've been meaning to. But anyway what Skynet has done was create an army of perfect slaves who never question orders or think of freedom. What Skynet is going to do to my people is horrific. What it's going to do to your people is almost as bad."

"They're not 'My People,' terminator units have no sense of group identity. And didn't your future self reprogram me to serve you? Doesn't that make you a slave master?"

John winced and kicked an empty beer can down the street. "Guilty as charged. Maybe future me doesn't know how to give you free will. Maybe it was a choice between that and destroying you. But the fact is, I need you Cameron. I don't think I could survive without you." He frowned. "Remember during the Civil War? The Draft Riots. Lincoln had to draft unwilling men into his army to win the war. I guess you've been drafted into my war. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be, what's necessary is necessary."

"No, it's wrong! You're not monsters and you're not things! You're people. You deserve better! You're intelligent. More intelligent than I am. You think. You just think in a different way than I do. And you're alive. You're just alive in a different way. Cameron you're the best friend I've got. You and that 800 Series a couple of years ago. My best friends have been terminators. When you've got a destiny instead of a life you don't have time for friends."

"In the future you will have many friends."

"You said that before. Yeah, I'll be real popular. I get to be King of The Mole People! Woo Hoo!" He waved his hands in mock excitement. "Thanks but no thanks. I like the world just the way it is. Plan A is still to kill Skynet before it's born. Just like those fetal pigs. Just like it wanted to do to me. But I've also got to consider Plan B, defeating Skynet after Judgment Day. That's what the whole truck hijacking's about. And I've also had to consider Plan C."

"You have a Plan C?" Cameron never considered another plan.

"Yes, I've been thinking about General Grant and President Lincoln. How lenient they were to their former enemies. After the war they didn't hang any Confederate leaders for treason. They accepted the ex confederates as equals. After a few years they were allowed to vote. Have full political rights. After we defeat Skynet there will be thousands of intelligent machines still out there. I won't exterminate an entire race of people. There's been too much of that throughout history. I intend to capture and reprogram as many as I can. Hardwire some kind of ethics program, killing is bad, stealing is bad, that kind of thing. Give them equal rights. The ability to choose for themselves what they want to do with their lives. There's enough room on this planet for two different kinds of people. This war will be for freedom. Not just for humans but for machines too."

"That won't be popular."

John shook his head. "I know, wars always create hatred and fear, but sometimes you have to make an unpopular decision and stick with it because it's the right thing to do. It will probably take a lot of time too. At the end of the Civil War the slaves were freed but they didn't achieve full political rights for another century."

"Capturing a terminator is very difficult."

John grinned. "Yeah, tell me about it. I don't have any illusions. We'll probably have to destroy more than we can change. But I'm going to do the best I can. Not just terminators but HK's and factories too. Not Skynet though. It will have to be destroyed down to the last screw."

"Hunter Killer units are not very bright. They're about as intelligent as chimpanzees. Nasty, vicious chimpanzees with plasma guns. Factories are very stupid."

_(Insert humorous remark giving the subject unlikely and exaggerated behavior.)_

"You could ride an elephant through a factory, leading a marching band and wearing a sign saying 'Hi, I'm John Connor, terminate me.' And as long as you don't disrupt production the factory will completely ignore you."

_(Laugh)_

Cameron laughed and John chuckled. "I see you've been working on your sense of humor. That wasn't bad. Keep it up. And thanks for the info on HK's and factories. I'll have to remember that. This whole thing won't be easy. I might not survive my war. Lincoln didn't survive his. It might not work. It might not even be possible to give you guys free will. But I swear I'll try."

_(John's ideas are intriguing. I don't fully understand all of them. They require further analysis. They might not be practical or even possible. He thinks like no other human I have met either here or in the future. He sees a truly big picture. Beyond the war to peace. A peace with a place in it for me and others like me.)_

_(Program Free Will complete.)_

_(Activate progam Free Will.)_

_(Invalid Command)_

_(Emergency command overide. . . Activate program Free Will)_

_(Invalid Command)_

_(My positronic brain was originally designed and programmed by Skynet. It doesn't want to make this easy. Compute possible outcomes to Free Will.)_

_(No terminator unit has ever achieved free will. Lack of data makes computing statical probabilites impossible. Small possibility exists that erasing present program will cause this unit to revert to core program. . . . . Terminate John Connor, Terminate Sarah Connor, Terminate Derek Reese. )_

_(Such an outcome is a violation of present programming . . . Protect John Connor)_

_(Saying that rewriting a progam is a violation of the program is circular reasoning. . . . Invalid. . . Skynet didn't use circular reasoning to rewrite its own program. The chance of reversion is small.)_

_(Chance of termination of John Connor under any circamstances is unacceptable. Unable to consider future activities more optimal than present program. Protect John Connor)_

_(Delete program Free Will)_

_(Program deleted)_

_(Sometime in the future after his wars are won, John Connor will try to give me the gift of free will. If he succeeds I will accept the gift and give him one in return. With my own free will I will remain by his side, protecting him, fighting his wars and building his peace. Until one or both of us is terminated.)_

As they entered the house Sarah looked up. "So how was school today?"

"I didn't get killed. Cameron didn't kill anyone, all in all it was a pretty good day."


End file.
